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By Hany Salah, IOL Correspondent
CAIRO –
Raising awareness about the impact of the Israeli siege on the
Gaza Strip, European Muslims are pressing hard to lift the
merciless blockade on the 1.6 million people in the enclave.
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“The ECESG has sought
all political means to break the siege on Gaza,”
Madi said. |
“The
European Muslim role in lifting the Israeli siege on Gaza is
backed by humanitarian and legal principles, which go in line
with the values championed by European governments and
societies,” Dr. Arafat Madi, chairman of the European Campaign
to End the Siege on Gaza (ECESG), told IsalmOnlne.net.
“The
importance of this role basically emanates from the weight of
the European role in drawing up international policies.”
Madi
met this week with President of the European Parliament Jerzy
Buzek to discuss the crippling blockade on Gaza.
“The
meeting took up the importance of activating the European role
in lifting the unjust siege on Gaza,” he said.
Israel
has clamped a siege on the Gaza Strip since Hamas was voted to
power in the 2006 legislative elections.
It
further tightened the blockade after Hamas assumed control in
2007, effectively leaving the 1.6 million Gazans cut off from
the outside world and struggling with desperate poverty.
“The
ECESG has sought all political means to break the siege on
Gaza,” noted the European Muslim leader.
He said
a series of meetings were held with most European lawmakers and
decision-makers to discuss how to lift the blockade.
“The
ECESG has also contacted officials and governments across the
continent to press for lifting the siege and having a more
effective European role in the region to help restore the
legitimate Palestinian rights.”
Multi-faceted
European Muslims have used different tools to bring the
merciless Israeli siege to an end.
“We
have taken measures, in cooperation with European MPs, to file a
lawsuit at the European Court of Justice to halt a partnership
agreement between the European Union and Israel over the Israeli
violation of the agreement, which stipulates respect of human
rights,” Madi said.
He said
the Brussels-based ECESG has also played an important role in
highlighting the impact of the siege.
“It has
also been rallying public support for the besieged Gazans via
the media and organizing demonstrations and sits-in in front of
government premises,” he said.
“In
addition, the ECESG launched media and awareness campaigns in
universities as well as sending e-mails to highlight the impact
of the siege to politicians, decision-makings, press and the
media.”
The
ECESG has further organized several aid convoys to the blockaded
strip, he said.
“We
also organized visits by European delegations to Gaza to assess
the tragedy caused by the siege,” he said.
Last
month, Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin led a delegation to
Gaza to assess the situation there.
“What I
witnessed in Gaza, amidst all the rubble and devastation, was a
population traumatized and reduced to poverty by an unjust and
completely counterproductive blockade,” he said.
"The
tragedy of Gaza is that it is fast in danger of becoming a
tolerated humanitarian crisis.
“[It
is] a situation that is proving extremely difficult to remedy or
ameliorate due to the blockade and the wider ramifications of
efforts to try and achieve political progress in the Middle
East.”
Madi,
the European Muslim leader, hopes that the Muslim efforts would
bear fruits on lifting the Gaza blockade.
“The
siege on Gaza is a brazen violation of international law and
norms,” he said.
The
ECESG chairman noted that the Israeli siege would never have
continued without the West’s support.
“This
requires pressures on the decision-makers in the West,
especially Europe, which plays an important role in efforts to
lift the siege.”
Source:
http://www.islamonline.net
Date: 2010/04/13
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